James Howlett
"It's not just to remember your life-- --but your death, too. It's to remind me that's where I started. If I keep that in mind, that I did that, that I'll always regret it, maybe I can put some new values together, go forward. 'stead of runnin' away from the guilt of it." Character Stat Sheet Public Information James Howlett is a name hardly anyone remembers, and even Logan himself didn't recall it until recently. It doesn't matter...that kid is long since dead. Logan is an international man of mystery. The public doesn't know him, but in Espionage circles he's known as an old-school spy, commando, and perhaps even assassin. Oddly there are records of him as far back as World War II and he doesn't seem to have aged a day. He was last known to have been an operative for Department H in Canada, but that was several years ago and his current whereabouts are not clear. Wolverine is a mutant affiliated with the team known as the X-men. Depending on who you ask, that makes him a hero, a villain, a freedom-fighter, a terrorist, a good soul, an unrepentant murderer, a man, or an animal. Most heroes acknowledge him as one of the good guys though...if perhaps one of the more dangerous of their number. One thing is certain regardless of his name: He's the best there is at what he does, and what he does isn't very nice.. Background James Howlett/History Personality Loyal - Logan may be a bit of a loner, but he does still value his relationships very highly. If you've managed to make a friend out of Logan, or even more so "family" out of him, then you've got someone that will have your back through thick and thin, no matter what. There is nothing Logan will not sacrifice for his friends and family, up to and including his life if need be. He might come with his own special brand of baggage, but when the chips are down there are few better friends to have than the Wolverine. Paternal - By virtue of age alone, Logan is the "old salt" type of guy. So naturally he tends to take a protective and mentor-ly role to much younger folks. He might act grumpy about it and/or deny it, but he really does have a strong desire to help make sure that other people don't make the same mistakes he has, or in a more overarching way, that they don't end up "like him" in terms of the amount of blood on their hands and pain they've endured. This also means that Logan tends to be considerably less grumpy around kids and teens. Jaded - Understandably, Logan is a pretty cynical fellow. He's seen a lot of the worst humanity has to offer, and its' definitely had an affect on him. While he doesn't ALWAYS assume the worst, he does tend to be prepared for it, and he often has a certain sarcastic bite to much of his humor. He can be quite the misanthrope depending on his mood, and accusations of being a "jerk" have a reasonably good chance of being correct at any given time. He's a good guy, but that doesn't mean he's always (or even often) nice. Idealist - While this might seem at odds with Logan being as jaded as he is, the truth of the matter is that Logan very much tends to believe in causes and ideals. He believes that having a code and sticking to it can make you a better person. He believes that some causes are worth fighting and dying for, even if they seem impossible (or heck, especially when they seem impossible). While he's seen the worst humanity has to offer, he's also seen some of its' best, and has the wisdom to balance those two sides of the scale. Honorable - Logan has used the Samurai code of Bushido to help bring discipline to his life, and extended that to the discipline of martial arts in general to help keep his feral side at bay. He believes strongly in meeting honor and respect with the same when it's genuinely given. He believes in having a code and sticking to it. He does what he says he's going to do, when he says he's going to do it. He keeps his promises. While he may be willing to "fight dirty" a lot of the time, he still clings strongly to the samurai ideals of loyalty, duty, and self-sacrifice. Berserker - Logan has a powerful feral side to his personality that can at times make him seem as much animal as man. Over the decades he has largely learned to harness this side of himself and unleash it as he wills, which when combined with his tremendous combat skills makes him a virtually unstoppable combatant. Once he really gets going, he can push himself as hard and as long as it takes to finish the battle, ignoring pain, discomfort, and other distractions. He surrenders himself fully to the fight, and though in most cases he doesn't lose his capacity for rational thought, there are instances where he can be pushed to a fully feral state, in which cases he tends to lash out violently against any perceived threats. Stubborn - Logan's a hard-headed fellow (literally and figuratively). Once he's set his mind on something it's damn near impossible to sway him. This does mean he can tend to dig in his heels when he feels like he's being pushed, which often leads to clashes with certain varieties of authority figures. He has NO problem going against the grain or taking his own path if he doesn't like the way things are going. He also has a tendency to just keep on fighting long past when others would have given up. It gives him a powerful survivor's instinct. Fearless - Logan technically feels fear at times...it just usually doesn't matter. He's faced down just about anything a man can face down and lived to tell the tale. Certainly threats to those he cares about can put a potent dose of worry into his emotions, but as far as threats to himself? He'll brush them off without difficulty. Between a natural inclination towards being a survivor and mayhaps a healthy dose of self-loathing, Logan will unhesitatingly leap into death and danger if he feels it necessary (and sometimes even when he doesn't). Killer - Logan has absolutely zero problems with killing his opponents. This isn't to say that he enjoys it, or that he goes out of his way to permanently end his foes (though yes, occasionally he -will- go out of his way if he thinks it's necessary), but rather that he simply doesn't tend to hold back when he swinging around those foot-long uber-sharp adamantium blades that spring from his forearms. His default mode tends to be "lethal" unless he has some specific reason to fight non-lethally. He takes no joy in it (as opposed to say, Sabretooth) but he only rarely regrets it, either. After all, an enemy you kill today is one that presumably can't kill you tomorrow. Pragmatist - Logan tends to believe in simple and straightforward solutions to problems. Whenever possible, he's usually the first to suggest the most efficient path, even if it's one that's considerably more ruthless or less ethical than other heroes might be willing to contemplate. It's not out of a lack of compassion or that he doesn't have strong morals, it's simply that he's lived a long enough life to know that sometimes it really isn't the best in the long term to follow the most strict and merciful path. He would rather do a bad thing now with a high probability of a "good" outcome later, than risk doing things the "good" way with a much lower chance of things turning out positively. Omelettes, eggs, that sort of thing. That isn't to say that he won't consider more idealistic and principled solutions, or even endorse or fully support them at times, just that if somebody's gonna be the voice in the group that says, "Why don't we just kill the guy?" it's probably going to be Logan. This also extends to combat...he's got no problems with fighting plenty dirty a good chunk of the time. Only certain opponents bring out the honorable side in him. Wanderer - Logan likes to stay in motion. Staying in motion means you don't have time to wallow in the miseries of your past. So Logan goes to considerable effort to keep himself occupied. While he's placed some surprisingly deep roots (for him) with the crew at Xavier's, if things are quiet there, he is entirely likely to wander off to find trouble he can (hopefully) resolve elsewhere, sometimes with friends, sometimes alone. Sure, he'll eventually return "home" but it may be weeks or even months depending on just how restless he'd gotten and how much trouble he uncovers. Let's just say there's a reason he's basically teamed up with nearly every good-guy hero or team out there at one time or another. If trouble's a-brewing, there's at least a small chance that Logan might just...show up. Or all too often, he's already deeply enmeshed in whatever that trouble might be. Logs 2015-02-05 - X Marks the Splotch - Havok leads a Danger Room session with Generation X. If the Brotherhood doesn't get him, the teenagers will. Category:Marvel Features Category:Special Characters Category:Major Characters Category:Elite Characters Category:Taken Characters Category:Family Matters Category:Veteran Superhero Category:Arrested or Slowed Aging Category:Iron Will Category:Regenerative Healing